Then I have just the place in Crete for you!
In August we were lucky enough to be in Crete and base ourselves up in the hills above Rethimnon for a week of family RnR. It would be an understatement if I said I had trawled all the booking/villa apps to find the ‘dream villa’… Thankfully I found the Dimokritos villas, in central Crete.
In the middle of the photo above are a little cluster of six white villas, the perfect Cretian base.
At our villa we had total privacy and barely saw the people in the other villas. At the same time we didn’t feel too remote as there were others nearby. Importantly (when you travel with an excitable child who doesn’t use his ‘indoor voice’ much) the villas are spaced out enough that small children can make as much noise as they want without disturbing other residents!
The villa sleeps 6-8 and it was very spacious for the 3 of us, inside and out. And the A/C was a dream after the UK heatwave we left behind! It has a large garden, an excellent pool and 3 large bedrooms.
Pool and garden
I booked this villa based entirely on the outside! We have gorgeous views at home, so when I’m away a spectacular view is essential. We weren’t disappointed! The villas are set in an olive grove and there are goats with bells grazing all around! Quintessential countryside smells and the deafening noise of cicadas!
What really sold it to us was the fabulous swimming pool with a shallow end, great big lawn, outdoor kitchen and plenty of shade. The pool is long enough to swim in, I’d guess 10 metres. And all the villa pools look out across the countryside down to the distant coastline, with views for miles.
The garden was massive, another big pull for us. There was thankfully lots of shade created by the villa and also a number of parasols too, and plenty of comfortable sun loungers.
Indoors
Inside we weren’t disappointed either. The villa actually sleeps 8 so we had plenty of space! Downstairs there is a spacious open plan kitchen/lounge and there are two big sofas that sleep 1 person each if needed. Also downstairs is a double bedroom with a balcony and a shower and toilet. In the downstairs bathroom there is a washing machine – and plenty of space to dry clothes outside! (Travelling with hurricane Bertie I didn’t take any interior photos so these are from the hosts)
We all slept upstairs, the only time we were actually inside. Upstairs was a bigger bathroom with a bath, and two twin bedrooms. We pushed the beds together in both rooms and had big doubles in the two rooms. Again there were balconies, off the rooms and off the hallway. Each of the rooms has its own air conditioning unit, as well as black out shutters and masses of wardrobe space. The rooms and furniture are simple, functional and clean.
Location
Is great. We were twenty minutes out of the nearest town of Rethimnon so we were close enough for food etc but far enough to not hear anyone speaking English! We flew in to Chania and the drive was just over an hour. There’s a little village a 5 minute drive away called Angelina which has a superb little mini-market and coffee shop – we got most of our food from there for the stay.
The nearest beach is called Geropotamus, I really can’t get enough of that name! It’s ten minutes away down a dirt track and is great to have on the doorstep! It was a true locals beach, with a little beach bar. We also found our way to the little chapel on a hill that we could see from the villa, which was beautiful for a sunset visit! There’s so much to see and enjoy in Crete, it’s the largest Greek island and has something for everyone.
The hosts that run the Dimokritos Villas were superb and very friendly. Popi kindly did a supermarket shop for us before we arrived so that we had everything we needed for the first 24 hours. On our first night she cooked a Grecian feast for us when we arrived! She has a little taverna onsite which caters to order which is super handy, especially on day 1! The A/C in one bedroom needed an engineer and it was fixed quickly, even though it was a Sunday. Very attentive and easy to contact on WhatsApp.
We booked our stay on AirBnB through Think Villa and the agents themselves were very helpful for tips on places to go as well as helping us to arrange car hire through a local company (which having flown into Chania before is far swifter than using Avis!). In fact we’ve booked a return to Crete this year with the same agency.
We had been waiting to take this holiday since May 2020, and it didn’t disappoint in any way!
This was our second visit to Crete, last time we travelled with friends and stayed here which I would also recommend.
